Cuisinart Griddler Indoor Grill, Panini Press, Sandwich Maker & More, 5-in-1 Grilling, Dishwasher-Safe Nonstick Cooking Plates, GR-4NP1, Stainless Steel

Why it's worth it

The Cuisinart GR-4NP1 works as a contact grill, panini press, full grill, full griddle, or half-and-half. Griddle mode runs from 200°F to 425°F with dual controls, and the nonstick plates come out and go in the dishwasher.

Most griddles do one thing. This one swaps its plates and becomes a panini press, a contact grill, an open grill, a flat griddle, or a split setup with grill plates on one side and smooth plates on the other. Changing modes takes under a minute — pop the plates out, flip or swap, snap them back. If your cabinet space is tight, that's five appliances collapsed into one footprint.

The half-grill, half-griddle mode is the reason to pick this over a plain flat griddle. Scrambled eggs want a gentler surface than bacon does, and here you can run each side at its own temperature. Eggs stay soft on the smooth plate while bacon crisps on the ridged one, and both finish around the same time. On a single-zone griddle you're picking one temperature and compromising on something.

From our review of 9 electric griddles for pancakes and breakfast, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Most griddles do one thing
• +The half-grill, half-griddle mode is the reason to pick this over a plain flat griddle
• +The 200°F to 425°F griddle range covers the whole breakfast spread
• +Cleanup is genuinely easy

What to know

• –The cooking surface is smaller than a dedicated 22-inch griddle
• –The hinge is fixed rather than floating, so thick items — a stacked sandwich, multi-layer French toast — can get uneven pressure…